“from a hunter.” This is the reading of the Septuagint, and there are a number of reasons why many scholars think it is to be preferred over the Hebrew, which reads, “like a gazelle from the hand” (although some English versions simply add to the text and say, “like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,” cp. ESV, NIV). The “hunter” in the first stanza parallels the “fowler” in the second stanza.

The gazelle and birds are wonderful object lessons in nature, and are chosen in this verse because they are both very good at escaping trouble. Someone who has entered into a bad agreement has to be very committed and persistent to get out of it.

“fowler.” A bird is a “fowl,” and a person who hunts birds is a “fowler.” The older English word for some of the guns we now call a “shotgun” was a “fowling piece.”